Why do my tomatoes have hard core?

August 19, 2010|By Sue Kittek, SPECIAL TO THE MORNNG CALL

Q: Do you know why my tomatoes have a hard core partway through? The tomatoes look great on the outside but you can only use half of the tomato. The core is so hard that even a knife has a hard time getting through.

—Gail Perdick, Catasauqua

A: I have seen this problem but never taken the time to research it before. The white core is a stress response. Something like that hot, dry 10-day period we had a few weeks ago is a major suspect. The problem, however, is dependent on the variety of tomato. Tomatoes with five distinctive seed cavities, filled with the jelly-like goo (locular jelly), and where the walls join together in the center for a dense core are the most vulnerable. This includes many heirloom varieties as well as some older hybrids such as Jetstar and some semi-determinate varieties.

There are few solutions: Avoid stressing plants or select varieties with meatier fruit and seed cavities throughout the tomato.

PEONY FUNGUS

Q: We have a couple of lovely peonies in our garden, which bloom beautifully in the spring. One has been there for over 40 years. In recent years, in early August, a grey fungus or mold forms on the leaves of our plants and the condition gets worse with each passing week. We end up cutting the plant back in early September. I don't remember this happening many years ago. What is the solution?

—Bob Bauer

A: Fungus on peonies is a rather common occurrence; powdery mildew affects lilacs, bee balm and phlox as well. Practical measures to reduce mildew problems include:

•Good air circulation; divide and respace crowded plants.

•Good sanitation practices; clear and remove plant debris.

•Sunlight: allows plants to dry off.

•Bottom watering: Avoid wetting foliage when watering plants.

•Cut back foliage after the first hard frost and dispose of debris.

•Treat with fungicide when foliage starts to emerge in spring and regularly throughout the season.

MYSTERY PLANT

Q: Could you please identify this plant for me? For years I have understood that it has a flower only once a year and it opens only at night. This year it has had three flowers. I saw the first one, missed the second one and saw the third flower.

—Joe Meier

A: The pictures that Joe sent depicted a rather ordinary, even straggly green plant with long droopy leaves but the most beautiful white fragrant flower. Oddly enough, I had just received pictures of a similar plant from another source. Both plants appear to be night-blooming cereus. Two related plants are marketed under that name, Selenicereus and Hylocereus, both members of the cactus family. Vigorous and vining, they are hardly stars of the garden, except when they bloom. The bloom lasts a single night and is a show in itself as it begins to unfurl about 9 p.m., peaks around midnight and is over before the first light of dawn. For additional growing information, try the website: http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/landscaping/SpecGardening/night_blooming_cereus.htm

LOCAL EVENT

Native Plants in the Landscape Workshop will be presented at Rodale Institute (611 Siegfriedale Road, Kutztown) noon to 2 p.m. Saturday. Cost is $25; preregistration is required by calling 610-683-6009 or at http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/gardening_workshops_2010.

IN THE GARDEN

Thanks to the many readers who sent good wishes and prayers for the success of my recent knee replacement. I am home and mending well, but barred from the garden for a few weeks yet. I'll be getting the second one done as soon as this one is properly healed so I'll be doing little more gardening this season.

My husband, Fran, is harvesting bowls of jewel-tone tomatoes daily as the pears, grape and cherries continue to produce in abundance. We've had only a few regular-sized tomatoes so far. The hardy hibiscus is blooming and the coneflowers brighten the front beds, camouflaging the patches of weeds. Zinnias also distract the eye from the untended beds. One great advantage has been the butterflies. They love the patches of flowering weeds that abound on the hillside.